Knowledge and Wisdom
by Frozen Samosas
Summary: Wisdom came much later, in those years after my idealism and arrogance took the childhood of my friend and had seen my kingdom razed to the ground. Wisdom, I hoped, would rebuild it.


Notes: This is Zelda's take on the events of Ocarina of Time, as imagined by me. I've always been curious about how Zelda went from the melodramatic princess in the garden, to Sheikan warrior, to holder of the tri-force of wisdom. )

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda series is not mine. I just admire the game a lot. I can't wait for Twilight Princess!

**Prologue**

_In my early childhood, I thought that the smooth, ancient stones of Hyrule Castle were eternal. The palace stood proud and silent above bustling Hyrule Market Town, a beacon staring back at the sprawl of the kingdom. Hyrule was a quilt of radiant hues and the citadel of its rulers oversaw everything. I believed that nothing could be hidden from the watchful eyes of the towering spires that crowned my home. _

_I had heard of the stories of the wars that had engulfed this land, the wars that bled Hyrule of knights, resources and joy. My grandfather, King Valdemar, had had a joyless reign, subduing the forces that threatened to tear his beloved land to shreds. Only in the last year of his reign did he see Hyrule returned to the peace he had known as a young prince. King Valdemar died in his sleep, a permanent scowl of worry and care etched upon his face. I was one year old then, an infant in my nurse-mother Impa's arms. _

_Though I had been born in a year of slowing terror, I grew up knowing the calm, seeming quiet of my parents' reign. My father would later be marked by secrecy and vigilant guards, but during his coronation as king he invited a great deal of people to witness the event. Though jaded by years of strife, many of the denizens of Hyrule could not help but feel optimistic as the watched the crowns of Hyrule bestowed upon my parents. My father, King Armand, was handsome and his eyes were filled with the sort of keen intelligence that had allowed him to memorize the countless facts that had dazzled h is tutors. My mother, Queen Rida, hailed from an ancient Hylian noble family said to count at least one Sheikah as an ancestor. Sheikan blood certainly seemed to be coursing through her veins, for she was an ethereal woman, lovely to behold. Beside my parents stood Impa, and I was, as usual, safely ensconced in her loving grip. The populace of Hyrule saw this moment, this triumph of my small family, and decided that they would give their trust to us. _

_I, of course, do not have any memories of this moment. I was much too young. But I try to picture it, forming a guess through knowledgeable conjecture. I see my father. He is beaming in a way that he hopes appears brave and commanding. Inside he is shaking. He is still a young man, and the keys to a troubled and majestic kingdom have simply been handed to him due to accident of birth. My mother… I barely knew her. She stands forever in my mind's eye, as she was in the few years I knew her. She is strong, the eye in the storm. She seems to know everything, and yet divulges nothing. I see the crowd. I hear them discussing the end of the civil wars. They speak about the previously troubled time as if it had been the greatest threat that Hyrule will ever face. I see myself, a small, squirming baby. I am not thinking about wars, magic, or destiny. I just wish to get away from this noisy crowd. Impa sings a gentle Sheikan lullaby, and I slowly calm. _

_This time should have signaled a shift in Hyrule's history. My kingdom should have gone on from this moment, and entered a period of stability. Instead, the wars of the past served as a prologue to the great battle that would afflict this land like nefarious poison. _

_ As I grew up, I considered myself to be a wise person. I had inherited my father's quick wit, and as such I was trusted with secrets about sacred artifacts and divine realms. This trait that I had taken great pride in, it turns out, was knowledge. Not Wisdom. Knowledge is a neutral weapon, one that can be used for great good and great harm. Wisdom came much later, in those years after my idealism and arrogance took the childhood of my friend and had seen my kingdom razed to the ground_

_Wisdom, I hoped, would rebuild it._


End file.
